Austan Goolsbee

Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisers (2010-2011) and Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

As debt, the deficit and reigniting the global economic engine dominate conversations around the world, Austan Goolsbee—who served as one of President Obama's key economic advisers—delivers a thoughtful look at where the economy is heading and what solutions are necessary to keep businesses competitive.

As debt, the deficit and reigniting the global economic engine dominate conversations around the world, Austan Goolsbee—who served as one of President Obama’s key economic advisers—delivers a thoughtful look at where the economy is heading and what solutions are necessary to keep businesses competitive.

Named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and currently an analyst for ABC News, Austan Goolsbee is one of few who can provide up-close perspective on the global economy, world financial headwinds, the response and what it all means for the future of business and the financial markets. As Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Goolsbee served as one of President Obama’s chief advisers in guiding the Administration's macroeconomic policy and reform of the financial system as well as a primary spokesperson on the economy—known for his frequent “white boarding” briefs. Prior to his Presidential appointment, Goolsbee was an economic panel member to the Congressional Budget Office, a former Fulbright Scholar and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. Informative and engaging, Goolsbee is a distinguished scholar who has been an advocate for letting the market drive the Administration’s policies. TheNew York Times called him a “brainy economist, policy wonk and an amateur comedian.” Jon Stewart says he is “Eliot Ness meets Milton Friedman.” Winner of the “D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity” contest, Goolsbee vibrantly shares with audiences key insights on the challenges and issues that the country faces in a new economic reality—from the deficit to the job market to the rising competition from around the globe—and how to sustain an economic recovery.

Why Is Silicon Valley in California?

Why Hasn’t the Recovery Been Faster?

What is Washington Doing to Alleviate Economic Problems?

Stumbling Home: The Promise and Pitfalls of Recovery in the US and the World

Why does the global economic recovery seem to be taking one step forward and a half step back and not coming back more quickly? Austan Goolsbee, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers of the United States draws on his recent policy experience to examine the problems and the opportunities that lie ahead for the U.S. economy, global growth and the ways the dysfunction of policy makers has complicated the road back. Providing a candid and holistic analysis, Goolsbee notes the factors likely to determine the strength and duration of the recovery, and how those key indicators at home—exports, innovation, housing, business capital spending, energy prices and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy— and abroad—the Eurozone debt crisis, currency wars and uncertainty in emerging markets—will impact growth and the prospects for sustained recovery.

The Economic and Political Realities Facing the President and Congress

With jobs, taxes, deficits and spending dominating the headlines, it is clear that political and economic issues are now more intertwined than at any time in recent history. A renowned economist who has extensive experience working in and around politics—most notably as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee understands both the economic and political realities that face both the President and Congress. An analyst for ABC News and sought-after by the media for his views on the politics of economics and his clear style, Goolsbee thoughtfully examines the industries, groups and geographies that will be doing better or worse in 2017 and beyond—and what this means for future elections and policy outcomes for the President, the Senate and the House. Taxes, trade, regulatory, financial and energy policies are all at stake and Goolsbee shows just what this means for America moving forward.

Economic Innovation: Keeping Corporations Competitive in the 21st Century

Austan Goolsbee analyzes the key economic challenges facing the U.S. and the importance of innovative solutions that will keep businesses competitive. As the nation looks to increase growth on the long term, continuing uncertainty over economic policy remains a critical issue at the forefront of corporate executives’ minds. Addressing the fiscal challenges that lie ahead for America, he explores how focusing on spurring investment and innovation and improving U.S. exports will have long-term positive impact—while a failure to act risks a lasting period of painful economic stagnation. Commenting on key challenges including attracting top talent, protecting innovation in a global marketplace, as well as macroeconomic factors like lingering high unemployment, the burdens of regulation and the increasing federal deficit, he analyzes the nation's economic health and disseminates complex economic policy with his insightful humor. Austan Goolsbee will help you decide how the policy decisions in Washington influence the middle-class, the competitiveness of various industries and how it will impact you and your company.

Austan Goolsbee was great, everyone loved him. He was incredibly funny, entertaining, relatable and straight-forward and was able to leave our guests enlightened and feeling smarter when they left our event. We received so many compliments for choosing him as our speaker.

Semiconductors Industry Association

Austan Goolsbee was a great step away from the usual, i.e. a lecture from a business book author. He threw in a couple of personal stories from the political trenches, which added a level of cool. Overall, it was fresh, funny, current and informed. Highly recommend!

ARCH Venture Partners

Austan Goolsbee is a very, very accomplished speaker. Unusual for an economist, he is also side splitting, tears running down your face funny. He expertly uses the humor to keep the audience’s attention but also to make some important points more clear. His ability to communicate fairly sophisticated concepts in terms understood by the masses is exceptional. His view of the economy and his ability to explain why he takes the positions he does is so well thought through and so well explained there wasn’t a single dissenting comment or question from any of our audiences. During the Q&A, he answers every question with the same direct, informative, easy to understand and humorous style used in his remarks. Every question answered completely and no topic dodged. Austan, in baseball terms, hit a walk off grand slam home run every night 4 nights in a row.

MPSF, Inc.

Austan Goolsbee was great. We received great feedback on him from numerous people. His remarks were thoughtful and insightful, he was generous with his time, Q&A was very interesting, and he was gracious in spending time with a number of people after his prepared remarks. His remarks tied in well with the general themes of our conference and was a perfect lead in for the rest of the day.